Extremely light spoilers A young man awakes on a mysterious island and finds a lone bed and breakfast run by a family of five. He has amnesia and doesn't remember who he his but can't shake the uncomfortable feeling from the family. The setup to the plot is a typical horror scenario but Carnby Kim undercuts your expectations with plot developments at every turn. The typical tropes exist but are never used stereotypically. The end of every act brings a new revelation but the beginning of the next act is always predictable for some time. Puzzle pieces are left for the reader to figure out what exactlyis happening. Even though the plot leads to what should have been a disappointing conclusion, Kim is able to justify it. Avoiding spoilers, the main character is both a victim and not so navigating the plot from his perspective alone isn't possible.

Guilt, forgiveness, and desires are the motivations for the main characters of the story. Only two characters truly drive the plot, but I won't go into detail as to why or how. Amnesia is not a trope I have read many stories of, but the unraveling of the main character's mind constantly had me questioning whether or not I was correct in what I thought about him and other characters. The amnesia is present until the climax of the story but never takes away from the character's progression. Just because he knows more now doesn't mean he has fully acknowledged who he is and has become. The bed and breakfast family at first seem like your typical horror scenario whether it's the Baker family from Resident Evil 7, the Sawyer family from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or whoever else you want to imagine. However, not everything is as it seems and what they symbolize is yet another mystery to be unraveled. Taehui, the family's employee, is a drug addicted ex-idol and adds to the intrigue of the plot. When you think you know what his role in the plot is, it's completely different by the second half of the story but still improves the overall quality of the character and who he truly is. When reading Pigpen you have to be open to a constantly evolving plot and how the characters change because of it.

The art is where Pigpen really shines. Carnby Kim is paired with Beom Sick Cheon who brings the work to life. The horror faces are reminiscent of Junji Ito and terrifyingly unexpected at times. The style itself lends to the symbolism of the work. In a scene where the main character gets drugged the surreal nature of it made you also feel like you were on the drug. Terror is also drawn incredibly well where you can feel it coming from the depths of the character knowing they're doomed. Absolutely incredible.

I enjoyed Pigpen though not as much as Bastard. The reason for the main character being on the island was a twist I didn't enjoy, but it still felt justified by the end. Each character brings their own layer to the plot and are three dimensional. The art was absolutely phenomenal. Carnby Kim manages to write another hit and I strongly recommend it to any fan of horror/thrillers.

Plot: 9.5/10
Characters: 9/10
Art: 10/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 9.1/10